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TIMOTHY GRAUL MARINE DESIGN WILL HAVE NEW OWNER
Mark Pudlo, Chief Naval Architect at Timothy Graul marine design (TGMD)
has purchased the design segment of TGMD, Inc. effective December 31,
2006. Mark and his new company, Seacraft Design, will continue the naval
architecture and marine design practice begun by Tim Graul in 1981. Mark
has been with TGMD since 1987, the summer before his senior year at Webb
Institute. Mark has demonstrated his competence, thoroughness and
creativity in the many projects he has successfully carried out. He plans
to move his office to another location in Sturgeon Bay.
Graul said that although he won’t be taking on new major
design work,
“I will not be leaving this business I love. I will
continue my marine consulting and surveying work, in the same office we’ve
been in for over 25 years. My phone and fax numbers and e-mail address
will also remain as before. I’ve been able to live out a dream that
started when I was a kid in junior high school. The friendships made; the
challenges met and the vessels created will always be with me.”
News Release - November 6, 2006
Timothy Graul Marine Services - a brief history
I began my naval architecture career at Grafton Boat Company, a small
shipyard a few miles up the river from St. Louis, where I took a summer
job in 1961 and went to work full time after graduating from the
University of Michigan in 1965. After several challenging and rewarding
years at Grafton, in 1972 we (my wife, two young children, our dog and I)
moved to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, and went to work for Peterson Builders,
a very highly-regarded shipyard. Peterson's versatility, building in
steel, wood, aluminum and fiberglass was a perfect opportunity for a
fledgling naval architect to learn more about the shipbuilding business.
PBI had just received a contract from the State of Alaska to build what
was (for me) a BIG ship: a 235 foot ferry, designed by Phil Spaulding.
Phil's firm had recently joined forces with W. C. Nickum and Sons, where I
had worked as a student. There were some interesting assignments in
planning the production of that ferry, the LE CONTE, and in the process
learned a lot about ABS and United States Coast Guard Regulations.
While PBI fulfilled several major Navy construction programs, a small
group of us handled all "commercial" jobs at the yard: tugs,
ferries, fireboats, patrol craft and a series of 225 foot tuna seiners. In
1981, PBI committed to Navy work to the exclusion of all else and I
decided it was time for me to set up my own design firm: my dream and goal
ever since drawing boats on the margins of my books and assignment papers
in grade school.
It happened that a friend had just purchased the old bank building and
needed tenants, so with great trepidation, I rented a room. My PBI
teammates and the owner's representatives from the tuna seiner program
gave me a beautiful new wooden drafting table (complete with a brass
plaque with their names engraved on it). R. A. Stearn, the dean of Great
Lakes naval architects, had just built a new office so he sold me some
surplus furniture and I was in business! Long-time clients and friends started calling, and
before I knew it I was working on a variety of projects. The Madeline
Island Ferry Line commissioned our first major design: a new boat was
needed for their Lake Superior route between Bayfield and Madeline Island.
We provided all the drawings for the new 90-foot MADELINE, and the ferry
line's crew built her themselves.
A job this big meant employees. First to join me was Bob Thompson, with
whom I had worked at PBI and who is TGMD's Senior Designer today. On a
whim, I wrote to the naval architecture schools and let them know we could
offer work experiences to their students. Several have done so, including
a student from Holland and even a professor from the U. S. Naval Academy
at Annapolis. Mark Pudlo, our chief naval architect, was a student intern
with us during his senior year at Webb Institute. Also a skilled
boatbuilder, and his intuitive knowledge of how things go together coupled
with an outstanding education make him a key member of our design team.
Bill Hitt takes care of our computers and does most of our electrical and
barge designing. Charlie Balestrieri is a gifted craftsman and valued
designer with years of shipyard experience to back up his artistry with
presentation and working drawings. Chesla Anschutz joined us in 1986 and
today is our financial manager. Jean Clark came on board in 1998 as
administrator.
The primary mission of Timothy Graul Marine Services is to create conceptual
and detailed designs for vessels of all types for owner and builders. As
general practitioners of naval architecture, we furnish specialized
guidance in specific areas such as repowering, enlarging, modifying or
converting existing vessels; surveying and appraising vessels prior to
purchase or for insurance coverage; advising on stability, capacity,
routes and tonnage admeasurement; providing structural, propulsion and
auxiliary system design; estimating costs; supervising construction, and
consulting on virtually any aspect of vessel construction, operation or
regulation. Our firm performs inclining experiments, assists with
obtaining Load Lines and helps get vessels certified for new routes or
service. If something is outside our range of abilities, we help the
client find a specialist. About the only things we don't design are casino
boats, and we try not to be expert witnesses.
We've been privileged to design vessels of almost every type. Some of our
recently-launched designs include a 250 foot ocean-service cutter-suction
dredge, a 148 foot ferry, 130 foot Great Lakes RO/RO ferry, a 90 foot
traditional wood schooner, 175, 165, 155 and 145 foot aluminum crew/supply
boats, a river ferry barge and tug, an aluminum catamaran research
boat and several passenger craft.
Like all naval architects, we use computers for drafting and analysis -
but we never forget that computers are only tools that help us do our job.
It is the insight, ability, skill and experience of the engineer doing the
work which assures success. As the old saying goes: "it isn't the
tool - it's the skill of the craftsman". My philosophy is that this
skill and experience is acquired from practice, and the best way to gain
experience is to find and keep good people.
We are committed to staying abreast of developments in our industry. We
attend and participate in seminars and symposia; maintain close contact
with universities and research facilities; write papers and get involved
in regulation and rule making.
But first, last and always, we love boats and consider ourselves very
lucky to actually be making a living doing what we love to do.
Firm president and founder Tim Graul is a naval architecture and marine
engineering graduate of the University of Michigan. He holds Professional
Engineer licenses from Wisconsin and Illinois. Tim is an instrument-rated
private pilot who takes advantage of the rapid mobility of personal
aviation to
serve his clients.
Chief naval architect Mark Pudlo is a graduate of the
prestigious Webb Institute of Naval Architecture and is an authority on
structures, stability and tonnage.
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